Running on empty

• By WILL SENTELL
• Advocate Capitol News Bureau
• Published: Jul 12, 2008 - Page: 1A - UPDATED: 12:05 a.m.

• Print
• Email
• Save
• Twitter
• Social Media

• Del.icio.us
• Digg
• Facebook
• Reddit
• 

In ways big and small, record gasoline prices are reshaping driving habits in Baton Rouge.

Anthony Allen, an employee at Southern University, recently decided to leave his Ford Expedition at home and ride the bus to campus, which takes about 15 minutes each way.

Filling up the Ford costs $105 each time.

“Until I see a break in the price of gas I am going to roll on the city bus,” said Allen, 45.

He was one of 20 people interviewed randomly at Southern University, LSU, a service station in north Baton Rouge, a truck stop in West Baton Rouge Parish and a heavily used bus stop.

The aim was to hear from a wide range of residents, and some visitors to Baton Rouge, on how gas prices are affecting their daily routines.

Evidence of the problem is everywhere.

State gasoline tax collections, which help finance new and improved roads and bridges, were down 3.2 percent for the financial year that ended June 30, officials of the state Department of Transportation and Development said.

The average price of regular, unleaded gasoline in Baton Rouge was $3.98 per gallon on Friday, according to figures compiled by the AAA.

The average one year ago was $2.86 per gallon.

The national average was $4.10 per gallon for regular unleaded on Friday.

While Allen has decided to park his Ford, the impact of the gas crunch elsewhere varies.

It means fewer customers to Robert Irvin’s barber shop in the Southern University student union from places like Gonzales and Donaldsonville.